NCAA Women's Championship 2017 preview: A breakdown of all 24 teams

NCAA Women's Championship 2017 preview: A breakdown of all 24 teams

Here is a preview of the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.:

WHO: 24 teams (Golfweek/Sagarin ranking for each team as well as breakdowns below)

1. Arizona State – Won Lubbock Regional by 21 shots; won four times in last eight starts

2. Alabama – Best 1-2-3 punch in college golf has led the Crimson Tide to four wins and four seconds in 10 starts

3. Stanford – 2015 NCAA champs are well versed in this format qualifying for match play final last two years

5. Florida – SEC and Columbus Regional champs hoping to get redemption from missing match play last year in Oregon

6. Florida State – Fewest head-to-head stroke play losses in college golf this year with a 144-9 overall W-L record

7. Duke – Boasts four NCAA finals starters in the top 75, with No. 1 Leona Maguire leading the way

8. Furman – Has finished first or second in nine of 11 events this year

10. USC – Played the nation’s toughest schedule, winning twice

11. Northwestern – Returns all five golfers to finals this year after team missed match play last year by one shot

12. South Carolina – Lefty Katelyn Dambaugh will try to lead Gamecocks back to match play for the second consecutive year

15. Miami – Cooled off a bit this spring but back at NCAA finals for second consecutive season

16. Kent State – Young team hoping to take advantage of midwest venue

17. Baylor – After a second-place finish in 2015, the Bears missed postseason a year ago and could be a top eight contender this week

18. Texas – Big 12 conference champs for the first time since 2011

23. Ohio State – Head coach Therese Hession brings Ohio State to the NCAA Championship for the 16th time

25. Texas Tech – Qualified for match play two years ago and back in NCAA finals for just third time in program history

26. California – Best finish this year was third, also finished fourth twice

28. North Carolina – Advanced out of Athens Regional as the No. 9 seed; in six of the Tar Heels’ 11 tournaments, they finished eight or worse

29. Pepperdine – Waves appear to be peaking at the right time; first appearance at NCAA finals since 2012

33. Purdue – Could be sneaky team this week playing in similar environment to home conditions just over two hours away

34. Michigan – Making a second consecutive trip to NCAA finals after a 14-year drought; missed 54-hole cut a year ago

35. Clemson – Program’s first appearance in NCAA championship. Coach Kelley Hester has now guided four teams to the finals

36. Oregon – Returns to NCAA finals after quarterfinal loss in match play a year ago

46. Michigan State – Much better than ranking indicates … Spartans won Big Ten Conference and then cruised through Athens Regional

WHAT: NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship

WHEN: Friday-Wednesday (72 holes of stroke play with cut after 54 holes to low 15 teams and nine individuals not on advancing teams; top eight teams advance to match play, which begins Tuesday and ends with Wednesday’s championship match)